Hilary Duff Was Reluctant To Return To ‘Lizzie McGuire’

Hilary Duff will be reprising her role as Lizzie McGuire for a reboot of the popular Disney series for the company’s new streaming platform, Disney+. The actress took to social media to share her excitement about the project, but it seems Duff was initially hesitant to step back into the role, according to a report from Pop Culture.

As fans of the actress already know, Lizzie McGuire catapulted Duff into stardom when it premiered in 2001. Duff played the title character of the show, a 13-year-old girl with dreams of being popular in high school and finally getting the attention of her crush, Ethan Craft, played by Clayton Snyder. Lizzie navigated life and high school with the help of her family and best friends, Gordo and Miranda, played by Adam Lamberg and Lalaine, respectively. Lizzie also had an animated alter ego who offered insight into the teen’s unexpressed thoughts and feelings.

It’s been over a decade since Lizzie McGuire stopped airing on the network, but the support for the show has remained strong. Disney previously planned to write the series from scratch after Duff reportedly said she “didn’t want to return,” according to a Twitter thread posted by the show’s original executive story editor, Nina Bargiel.

“Hilary had said she didn’t want to return to Lizzie so we worked on it as a high school reboot,” Bargiel tweeted. “However, in the middle of the outline stage at Freeform, I saw a Hilary interview on Buzzfeed where she said she was finally ready to come back to the character!!!”

During the Buzzfeed interview mentioned by Bargiel, Duff was asked whether she’d consider returning to the Disney series.

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“Honestly, the idea sounded terrible like two years ago when reboots were happening,” she said. “I don’t know, I loved Lizzie McGuire and it might be really fun to see where she is now.”

After the announcement of the reboot, Duff expressed her love for the character while highlighting the important role the show played in the lives of little girls around the world. Based on the official description of the show, Lizzie is all grown up now. She’s about to say goodbye to her 20s and has the “perfect life” complete with her dream job and her dream man. But of course, there’s no saying goodbye to “that 13-year-old, no-holds-barred, animated Lizzie that’s constantly babbling in her adult-Lizzie head.”

There’s currently no premiere date for the Lizzie McGuire reboot, but Disney+ is expected to launch on November 12.